“House Calls” – Albany Legends’ Steve Miller looks to make memories of the past into dreams of the future

If you haven’t heard, professional basketball is coming back to the Capital Region this spring. This edition will be called the Albany (Tech Valley) Legends and the franchise will look to build on past successes of other pro teams in the area and bring an affordable product to area hoops fans. I had the chance to sit down with CEO Steve Miller over the weekend and he is my guest in this week’s edition of “House Calls”.

With the end of the Albany Patroons and the failing of the CBA which had long endured as everything that was good about minor league basketball, it is exciting to know that the opportunity to watch pro ball in Albany is not dead.For Miller, a long-time Patroons fan you can see the excitement in his eyes and hear it in his thoughts, “I can’t wait to get going. We really researched all of the available leagues and scenarios and we are excited to bring the Legends to Albany!”

Miller added, “I think this league is a great fit for our area and one that will provide high-quality, affordable professional minor league entertainment.”
Of course this concept isn’t new around here as we have had semipro and pro sports in this area for a long time. We have a rich history and to understand the present we need to look to the past.

Back in the 1930’s, Babe Ruth played at old Hawkins stadium in Port Schuyler (southern Watervliet) when his Yanks took on the old Albany Senators. The Senators featured Johnnie Evers and other top players and for decades represented Albany in professional baseball. We have had our own version of tobacco road in hoops also. In the 1970’s, the Schaefer Brewers travelled around playing games throughout the northeast, even playing against such notable players as Dr. J and Ernie ‘D’.

In the 1980’s, the Albany-Colonie Yankees who featured future stars like Derek Jeter and Jorge Posada entertained fans at Heritage Park. Deion Sanders played here and who could forget the night that Ron Guidry came here to rehab his shoulder and what seemed to be the entire world came down to the game and even got to stand in the outfield because of the overflow crowd!

In the 1990’s the Albany Firebirds ruled Pearl Street as they brought an exciting brand of indoor football to the area with great players like Mike Perez, Fred McNair and “Touchdown” Eddie Brown. Before the team got greedy and moved to Indianapolis, the Firebirds stood for everything that was great about Albany! Fans would cram in down there and just party and then after the game the team would head over to the Crown Plaza and hang with the fans in the bar. What a great concept and man do I miss it. Of course the Firebirds shared the building with the River Rats who after almost 20 years are still playing minor league hockey in Albany while long-successful programs like the Adirondack RedWings up in Glens Falls came and went. (There is a new minor league hockey team back up north which is nice to see.)

Perhaps no team, however, signifies the essence of Capital Area sports more than the Albany Patroons basketball team who owned the Washington Avenue Armory for over a decade and treated us to talented players like Mario Elie, Vincent Askew and Scottie Brooks and became the training ground for such notable coaches as Phil Jackson, Bill Musselman and George Karl who all parlayed their experiences into head coaching jobs in the NBA. The basketball was good and the atmosphere was electric. On any given night, you could see any number of future or former NBA players coming into the armory and the place was packed even without ample parking or all of the pleasures of the TU Center.

With those days just a distant memory, the time has come for this area to try its next hand at professional sports. The time has come for the Albany Legends. The team, with its classy blue and gold uniforms will adopt some of the successful traditions of Patroons lore having hired the greatest player in the history of the franchise, Derrick Rowland who played at Postdam State and then went on to the NBA for a solid career as their Head Coach.

I met Derrick Rowland when I was in 5th grade in 1982. He came to Forest Park elementary school in his Patroons gear and he had hundreds of Burger King coupons in his pockets. He asked for volunteers and I was fortunate enough to be chosen with a kid named Todd Hesnor and some others to shoot foul shots and if we made two in a row, the kids would all get free whoppers.

Myself and some of the other shooters made a shot here or there but Hesnor (who was in 4th grade at the time) stepped up and cooly knocked down both foul shots and the place went “bananas”. I remember like it was yesterday the feeling we all had to meet this professional athlete and win those whoppers. Hesnor became a hero and Rowland became my idol at the time.
Now, at the age of 37 I look back on those wholesome days and I think about how cool it would be for my sons to have the chance to have that same opportunity. The chancr for them to have a pro franchise here for the community to support that will help propel the careers of future stars and excite the fans of the area. It’s that time, people.

The time is right for the Albany Legends. A team for the area that promises to be visible as well as competitive. According to Miller, the kids are the key, “We recognize our responsibility to the community and our youth. We will focus on partnerships with not-for-profits, youth groups and deserving organizations every night with things like complimentary tickets, fundraising, youth clinics and role model appearances.”

With a spring season and weekend home games, the team will not be competing against Siena or UAlbany for fans. In fact, quite the contrary, the season will continue right after the end of their seasons and this should be a great entertainment and basketball option for fans. The costs of general admission tickets are very affordable at $7 or $10 for a great seat at the Washington Avenue Armory and season tickets are even cheaper.

Miller added, “The arena is brightly-lit and seats a comfortable 2500 people. The team will play 15 home games and will be comprised of players coming back from Europe who are looking to make NBA summer league rosters and there may even be a mix of local players.” This is a point that hopefully will whet the appetite of our local area fans.

The season opener for the franchise will be on April 9th and the organization will play sets of three-game homestands against the same opponent for an entire weekend. Their performance and therefore their results of each of these mini-series will determine which teams make the playoffs. The opponents will mostly be from the midwest, “Five different organizations will fly in and play the Legends in these series and the team will travel for one week-long road trip to play them in a loop during the season. This will keep our operating costs down and therefore our ticket prices mor affordable. We will be clustered with these 5 teams in one of three divisions of the IBL (International Basketball League) which features teams from the Midwest, West Coast and even Asia.”

Miller concluded, “The talent in the league is very strong. They have had former NBA stars like Dennis Rodman and Ron Harper participate as well as many young players working their way up to the NBA or coming back from Europe. The brand of basketball will be fast with special rules like a 22-second shot clock and refs don’t need to check the ball, you just take it and go. It’s a fun, fast and exciting game for the fans!”

To reach out to the legends and inquire about tickets, sponsorship or if you want more information, you can reach Steve at LegendsProBall@yahoo.com or you can visit the league online.

Eric Medved

5 Responses

Something to look forward to after HS hoops and March Madness come to an end. There will be something that I can actually enjoy in person, during the wet spring months. The weekend format for games is going to make it that much easier for me to attend the games once I’ve purshased some season tickets for me and the kids.

Know Steve personally. I can see his passion and I know this is going to be run very professionally. The team is going to be of high performance with Derrick doing what he does best. This is a great management team coming out with a greater mission of upholding local tradition and community purpose. I can’t wait for it to begin myself and feel the excitement. IBL seems a lot more promising… competitive games will bring back the energy in the Armory!

it will be nice to see a team return to the armory. It is great to see that a group has taken an interest in returning professional play to the area. The answer here is not derrick roland though. The game with 22 second shot clocks and no refereeing checks will be way too fast of a game for him! he cant even coach a city rocks practice! if the team fails, it wont be because of managment, it will be because of the managments choice in the legends coach.

Hey all you “old time”Patroons fans,tommy t here to let you know i’ve already purchased my season tickets!!!!i’ll be roamin my usual area right next to the opposing teams bench and i’m lookin for all you “diehards”to come on out and support the Legends. Steve Miller is puttin forth the effort to give us a team,,,,lets show him that we STAND BEHIND our fellow pro hoops junkie. See you in the Spring!!!

TOMMY T! nice to see you on here! Pat always said the funniest and best part of coming to play against us was you sitting right on his hip giving him and his players from Butte the business! Then… when he was here as the head coach of the USBL team, he appreciated you even more! We almost wanted to switch benches to get closer to hear what you had to say. Some hilarious stuff comes from that corner of the gym.

I wasn’t there when sugar returned to the gym, but I am sure there was some tough love coming from you and the guys. And if I know Michael, he was laughing and giving it right back to you…

I hope all goes well with Steve’s venture. My best — hope to see you in the spring. (PS- how GOOD would k. reid be in this format? I want to get him on the phone!)

and to #3-coach’s last name is spelled Rowland.

Ben Smith

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